Have you bought school shoes yet?

[bodenbiscuit]

In the past I always buy everything else really early and leave the school shoes until right before they go back, mainly because if their feet suddenly grown they will not get much wear out of them. But leaving it usually means there is very little choice.

So do you leave it or buy quite early?

[MyVisionsComeFromSoup]

bought online on Friday for £10 less than in Clarks

Disclaimer - DD is 13, has had the same shoe size for over two years, and these are an exact replacement for last year's now-trashed shoes. Previously I've gone to an independent shoe shop after the schools have gone back yes, DD you can wear those shoes for another couple of days, no-one will notice your toes sticking out when it's all been much less stressed, and they've been able to order in the exact size we've needed.

[AChickenCalledKorma]

I only bought early once. Her feet grew a whole size in the five weeks between buying them and going back to school! To be fair, the shop did agree to exchange them, but then I had to sit in the hellhole shoe shop twice.

[TalkinPeace]

I always bought school shoes after the August bank holiday - to allow for summer growth spurts.

The queues at French's in Bedford Place were always horrific but it was always the right choice.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

Oh god, is French's still there? That was one of the horrors of my childhood, being dragged all the way to Southampton for sensible shoes when my friends had fashionable ones from the local shops.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

To answer the question, I buy in mid Aug on a weekday, my DCs have fairly slow growing feet and we've never had shoes grown out of during the school year.

[TalkinPeace]

French's is still there and booming.
They now have a ticketed queueing system for the last three weeks of the holiday!

With DD I got away with their shoes till the end of year 7
With DS till the end of year 8

But by then their ankle bones had formed properly so I was less worried.

[dashoflime]

No, but I need to soon. My tiny DS is due to start nursury school and I have had to track down school plimsolls in a baby/toddler size 5.
There is one stockist on ebay who does them!

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

Yes, I think my parents gave up around 12 or 13yo. Of course they were right and I am grateful for my healthy feet, but I remember the resentment. My DCs are 9 and 11 and so far haven't questioned sensible school shoes. My dilemma this year is whether to get DS new ones for starting secondary, he had new at Easter due to having trashed them, the toes are scuffed badly again from playground football but they are likely to fit him for ages yet.

[RufusTheReindeer]

We've gone to frenchs for years now

Bit of a pain as it's about 20miles from us and we can only really go after 2pm on a Saturday or in the holidays

Did got her shoes on Friday...quickest ever for her, she liked the shoes and they had a pair which fitted her. Normally we are the people with 20 boxes piled round them

Ds1 and ds2 went on Saturday, only needed shoes for ds2 as ds1 is off to college, but still wanted ds1 checked. Bad parents they had both gone up by a size and a half

Love frenchs, love the selection and the fact that it doesn't seem to have changed from the 60's

[lavendersun]

DD's school shoes have lasted a whole school year so now that she is a bit older (9) and growth has slowed down I will probably buy them earlier than I used to day before school goes back.

[TalkinPeace]

I loved French's because - as I said to another parent -
I chose the shop, now the kids are free to choose the shoes

DH goes there because they do the best personalised fit shoes for men.

[EsmereldaPB]

The Jones in our town offer appointments so i have my brood booked in for the 2nd to last week of the holidays

[RufusTheReindeer]

talking

Very true, I find them very trustworthy. It's always a fully trained adult that does the fitting and they do listen to the child

[4EverScottish]

Early because it's hard to get adult size 8 school shoes for an 11 year old girl!

[Kim82]

I have bought school shoes already but the kids are a little older now (14, 11 and 8) so don't grow quite as quickly now. The 8 and 11 year old have clarks shoes as their feet are awkward so they need properly fitted ones (the 11 year old has ballerina pump style ones though) and 14 year old Ds has some I bought from sports direct.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

I either go to Russell and Bromley or one of two independent local shops (French's is about an hour away, but we never really go to Southampton so probably not going to try it), always have them measured and fitted, both DCs have high insteps and usually need to try several pairs to get a good fit.

[ThomasRichard]

Thanks for the reminder! I've placed an online order and will book an appointment.

[bodenbiscuit]

I always took my dds to the Russell and Bromley in our town and then it closed. The other two shoe shops where we live are rubbish. I once tried to get a pair of plimsoles in there for dd3 who has extremely wide feet. The shop only stocked a F width and I said 'no, those won't fit her - she needs a H' The sales person said 'how do you know they won't fit her?' To which I replied 'because she's usually a H!' The woman then crammed the shoe on her foot and said 'see it fits'. They were so tight she could hardly stand in them!

So now Russell and Bromley is gone, I decided to get a measure and do it myself, then order online.

[TalkinPeace]

Whoknows
If you do end up in Bedford place, the best free 2 hour parking is in Morris Road by the junction with Devonshire Road

[YeOldeTrout]

Mine never seem to outgrow over the summer so no need to particularly buy then.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

Thanks Talkin, I really don't know my way around the city any more (live in East Hants so Guildford, Winchester, Basingstoke and Reading are all easier to get to and it's all changed since West Quay opened) but I'll bear it in mind.

[TalkinPeace]

The cool thing about Morris Road is that its a 5 min walk from all of the shops and and easy escape back to the big roads.
Its where I always park

[AgnesGrey]

So where do people get H fittings from ?

[TalkinPeace]

French's